Daniel 7:9, 10

As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

Daniel was given a glimpse of the end times, and in particular, as seen in these verses, of the Great White Throne judgment seat. (See also Revelation 20:11-15.) The dead will then stand before the Father’s throne and be judged according to what they have done. What an awesome vision for Daniel to behold! As he continued to watch, the Son of Man was led into the Father’s presence and was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him (7:14). How glorious and how comforting! God has not given us an impossible commission. It will be accomplished as we yield ourselves to Him.

Thank the Lord for this glimpse of the future. Pray that He will hasten the day when through us, some from every nation will sing His praises.

Shi�ite Muslim Arabs in Iraq

by KC

Clunk! Hussein hastily put down his coffee cup when his neighbor talked about how great it was that Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was able to form an alliance with another Shi’ite Arab-based voter block last May. Hussein snapped at him, “Elections! Politics! Everyone wants us to put them in power, and they expect us to vote for them because we are Shi’ite Muslims like they are. And what will they do for us? Sell us out to the Iranians?”

Hussein might be more skeptical than most Shi’ite Muslim Arabs in Iraq, but he is in good company. Through the centuries, there have been many raids across what is now the Iraq-Iran border, leaving everyone suspicious of anyone who is not part of their group. A public opinion poll taken last spring indicated that only 18 percent of Iraqi Shi’ite Muslims have a favorable view of Iran’s role in Iraqi political affairs.

Shi’ite Muslim Arabs in Iraq do not trust their cousins across the border. They view Shi’ite Muslim Arabs in Iran as being agents of the Iranian government. Less than half of the Shi’ite Muslim Arabs surveyed had a high opinion of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They want to be able to control their own resources for their own purposes. The Shi’ite Arabs in both countries speak slightly different dialects.